Adapting And Surviving
by BarFly11
Summary: Jennifer (OC) struggles to survive alone during the apocalypse. Before long, she crosses paths with the group. Can they help her? Can she help them? Eventual femslash.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first attempt at FanFiction ever. I've read lots of submissions on the website and wanted to give it a shot myself. Hope you enjoy the first chapter :-) I'd love to hear what you think!**

**The rating right now is K but please be aware that this will be changing to M within the next few chapters. And yes, my OC will definitely cross paths with a few familiar faces very soon. :-)**

My birthday. No. Fourth of July. Yeah, _that _was my favourite day. Especially after Mom finally agreed that the 14 hour drive to Aunt Liz's house in Roswell, Georgia could be done much faster on a plane. A whole week off from work, eighty-five degree weather and one of the few times in the entire year that we managed to get the whole family togeth -

"Stop it", I reminded myself. "Stop this".

That life was over. It ended 17 days ago. In fact, so much had happened already that sometimes it felt like it had never truly existed to begin with. I had to toughen up - and fast. Thinking about the past wouldn't help me. It wouldn't keep protected from this hell.

Jennifer stopped walking for a moment and dropped her backpack to the ground. As she rubbed her aching neck and stretched her tired muscles she took in her surroundings. She couldn't see anything except yellow fields and a few scattered farm houses. Same view as yesterday; same as the day before. She hadn't seen a single person for eight days. Well, not a living, breathing, human one anyway. Then again, maybe that's not such a bad thing. Jennifer learnt the hard way that sometimes you should be more afraid of the living than the dead.

Sighing towards the ground, she did a quick check on her food supplies, even though she knew exactly what was there. Two bottles of water, a packet of chips, one and a half candy bars and a few cans of soup. She felt my anxiety levels rise by the second; she knew that she didn't have enough to survive but it was also clear that the best chance of finding the things she desperately needed was in the areas that were once more populated. The areas that were now most dangerous.

Jennifer rubbed her eyes as she felt a headache begin to take hold. She couldn't think straight right now. "Maybe I'm dehydrated", she thought. She was angry at herself for having such poor coping skills. Here she was, wandering the back roads of Georgia alone, living day-to-day and without any sort of long-term plan.

"You need to step up", she coached herself. "You need to."


	2. Chapter 2

With the first hint of sunrise, Jennifer's routine began again. She sat in the tree that she had chosen the previous night and ate a tiny breakfast that consisted of a handful of chips and a quarter of a bottle of water. There was no telling when she'd be able to replenish her rations, so it was important to be careful with everything she had.

The birds chirped and sang all around her and she frowned as she wondered what they were so happy about. "Maybe they don't know what's happened", she thought. "Maybe they - ". Jennifer interrupted her own thoughts quickly, she had more important things to worry about than the opinions of animals.

Jennifer dropped down to the floor of the forest as quietly as she could before slinging her backpack over her shoulders again. She really wasn't looking forward to another day of walking in the blazing heat of August in Georgia but at least today she had a destination to reach. She hadn't slept at all the night before. A combination of stress and worry kept her from finding any real rest.

Just before dusk the night before, Jennifer had spotted a metal structure in the distance. She thought it might be a cellphone tower. Whatever it was, it looked big. She knew it would give her a panoramic view of her surroundings. If there was anything in the area, she'd be able to see it from there.

It took the best part of four hours to reach the tower and when she arrived, she was taken aback by the sheer size of the structure in front of her. Suddenly Jennifer felt very uneasy at the prospect of being so high with no safety equipment; if she slipped or lost her balance, she was dead. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she began her ascent of the ladder attached to the side of the metal. If she didn't go now, she never would.

It was more tiring than she expected, and the metalwork rattled with every footstep she made. Afraid of alerting any nearby infected to her presence, Jennifer decided that at three quarters of the way to the top, she was high enough to see anything that was there to be seen. She hooked her right arm through a rung of the ladder and steadied her feet in order to look at the area. Her heart sunk as she realised the true gravity of her situation. All around her, as far as the eye could see, was the same landscape - fields, trees, several stray infected that were far enough away that they were of no danger right now, a few farm houses that she didn't dare approach after...well, after that mistake two weeks ago, and nothing else.

_Nothing._

Jennifer sighed out loud and closed her eyes as she let her forehead rest against the cool metal. It was hard for her not to cry. She wanted to scream, but knew better than to make unnecessary noise. She suddenly felt more drained than ever before. The prospect of dying at the side of a road in agony because she ran out of food and water scared her almost as much as those infected did. But how could she be expected to overcome seemingly endless miles of desolate landscape in the vain hope that there'd be something better at the end of it?

Jennifer took another look around, trying to work out the best way to continue on. She settled on following the road to her left. There was a distinct tree line in that direction and she knew that with trees came benefits - a place to sleep and a shade from the sun.

"Alright, let's go" she said to no one in particular, her voice heavy from fatigue and upset.

Jennifer climbed down from the tower and began walking again. She was really struggling to keep things together now. The disappointments, the hunger, the isolation was bearing heavily on her spirit. She was scared of being alone but scared of finding another survivor. She was exhausted but couldn't allow herself to sleep. This wasn't even surviving; this was just existing.


	3. Chapter 3

Sweat glistened on every area of Jennifer's body as she walked down the abandoned road in search of some kind of respite. She could feel that her face was sunburned and the headache she had been feeling recently was showing no signs of releasing the constant, pounding grip it had on her. She was dying, and she knew it. She tried to stay out of the direct sunlight as often as she could, but the soaring temperatures seemed to do just as much damage.

An hour into her travel, she spotted a couple of the infected ahead of her in the road. Jennifer knew now that where she found one or two, there was usually more. She reached around to the side pocket of her backpack and took hold of the metal crowbar she had carried since the whole thing started. She hated getting up close and personal with them - the way they looked still scared her and the smell was horrendous - but guns were noisy and should only be used in the most desperate situations.

Jennifer scanned all around her for any signs of other infected in the area. It looked clear, but the task in hand was to dispatch the ones blocking her road. The smaller of the two had a very obvious broken ankle. The sight of the compound fracture made Jennifer cringe. Jennifer could see that the injury meant that it moved a lot slower than its companion, so she was confident enough to whistle loudly to attract their attention. The more capable, male member of the pair stumbled towards her with surprising speed. It was sickening how thin he was; obviously hadn't fed in a while. His eyes were wide and his jaw snapped as he got closer to his meal. Amongst the blood, dirt and grime that coated his clothes, skin and hair, Jennifer spotted a very obvious bite mark on his left arm.

Steadying her feet and tightening her grip on her weapon, Jennifer timed her actions and swung as hard as she could at the side of his face. She groaned at the sudden exertion as the metal connected with his right temple. In a split second he was lying at her feet, all remaining life finally extinguished.

Jennifer quickly stepped over the body and turned her attentions to the other one. Aside from the injury that slowed her down, she was in a similar state to her companion. The infected woman reached her arms out towards Jennifer and groaned with a deep hunger clear in her voice. Jennifer quickly sidestepped the bony fingers that were so desperate to get a hold of her and plunged the crowbar into the woman's left eye. As she slumped to the ground, Jennifer took a last look at the pair. They were probably a couple; maybe even married. A few weeks ago they had their whole lives ahead of them, now they were lying dead in the middle of a back road. Another wave of sadness washed over Jennifer as she turned and continued down the road, wiping the blood, brain matter and hair from her crowbar on the grass at the side.

Later that evening, Jennifer's thoughts turned to finding a place to rest that night. As usual, her immediate solution was to find a suitable tree. In such a rural area, most of the trees were tall, strong and more than capable of supporting her weight whilst she tried to grab a couple of hours of sleep. Jennifer made her choice and smiled wryly at how easy it had been to climb. She had never been an outdoors kind of girl - and here she was scaling forty-five feet of tree bark like she had done it all her life. After a quick dinner consisting of some soup from her backpack and a few potato chips, Jennifer tried to get some much-needed rest.

Jennifer's eyes snapped open and her body tensed. "What _was_ that?" she whispered aloud to nobody but herself. She had heard a voice. It was a voice, right? Jennifer rubbed her eyes and tried to make sense of the moment. Was she still asleep and dreaming? Oh God, was she dead now? What the hell was going on?

Jennifer took a deep breath and attempted to slow her heart rate down. There were more voices now, both male and female ones and she could see several shadowed figures moving around on the road. She couldn't understand what they were saying. She thought logically, "Whoever that is, they don't know you're here. _They don't know you're here_". Jennifer willed herself to calm down and wait it out. She fought all against all of her instincts that told her to ask these people for help. "They could be anyone, it's not worth it. _It's not_". An internal battle raged inside Jennifer's body. She tried to think while she continued to watch the group of people. As the figures on the road moved around, Jennifer adjusted her position in the tree to get a better look and watched helplessly as her backpack slipped from the branch it had rested on and crashed to the forest floor with a THUD loud enough to be heard all around.

"Shit! Shit! _SHIT_!"

Jennifer panicked and immediately descended the tree as quickly as she could, not stopping to check if the group on the road had heard the fall. Her heart pounded in her chest as she grabbed the backpack from the grass and ran as fast as she could into the forest. She couldn't hear anything over the sound of the blood pumping in her ears, but a flash of colour on her left side made her realise that she had nowhere to go. Whoever these people were, they had flanked her as she ran.

Blinking back tears that threatened to spill over, Jennifer stopped running and held her hands up to show whoever had chased her that she was unarmed and of no danger to them. She purposely faced away from the two people who had chased her; if they were going to kill her, she didn't want to know about it. She prayed silently that they were maybe they wouldn't hurt her - maybe they were just trying to survive this horrific new world in the same way she was.

"Turn around", a thick southern voice told her, "an' do it slowly".

Jennifer had no option. She sighed and did as the voice commanded. Keeping her hands in the air, she slowly turned her body to face her fate. She didn't dare make eye contact with either of the men but she knew that they were armed. Keeping her eyes focused on the grass growing in the space between them, Jennifer waited to be spoken to again.

"Who are you? Why were you watching us?" the other man demanded.

Jennifer didn't look up "I wasn't watching you. I was just...passing through" she protested with no hint of aggression in her voice.

"Where's your group? The people you're with - where are they? They around here someplace?" came the next round of questioning from the taller of the two men.

"I don't have a group. I'm alone", Jennifer confirmed. "I swear, I wasn't watching you and your people. I just...happened to be here at the same time as you".

The man with the thicker accent scoffed. He obviously didn't believe her story. Jennifer knew her time was up. She closed her eyes and this time she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She was terrified of what they might do to her before they killed her. If they were anything like those other peop -

"Alright", one of the men cut her from her thoughts. "Here's what's gonna happen. I want you to walk back the way we came, slowly, keeping your hands in plain sight at all times." Jennifer kept her eyes low and listened. The man's voice deepened as he took a step towards her "If you try runnin', if you try _anythin'_, make no mistake, I _will_ kill you. You understan' me?"

Jennifer nodded.

"C'mon, get gon'" the other man chimed in.

Jennifer began walking, not daring to try to pick up her backpack. One of the men lifted it instead and slung it over his shoulder as they fell into step behind her.

After a few minutes, a voice penetrated Jennifer's silence.

"What's your name?" it simply said. Although she couldn't see, she was almost certain that she was being spoken to by the man who talked like a cop, the one who'd told her to keep her hands in plain sight.

"Jennifer" she replied softly.

"Jennifer" he repeated. "Well Jennifer, I'm Rick"


	4. Chapter 4

Soon the trio approached the roadside in silence. Jennifer's heart pounded in her chest the entire time. She tried to reason with herself - one of the men had introduced himself to her - why would he bother to do that if he was planning to hurt her? She knew that she had to stay calm - if she allowed herself to panic, the chances were that she'd panic the men too - and then who knows what might happen.

As they emerged from the tree line, Jennifer looked up to see that the remaining members of the men's group had immediately turned their attention to her. A few of them had raised a gun in her direction, clearly in the habit of protecting each other at all costs.

The man who had introduced himself as Rick quickly settled the commotion.

"It's okay", he said, raising his hand, "it's okay". Jennifer glanced around the people in front of her and noticed how mismatched the group looked. There were men, women and children of all ages. Some of them looked like they could handle themselves, others looked like they only stayed around to cook dinner. The one thing all they shared, though, was that look of fear and uncertainty. Jennifer knew full well that she probably had a similar expression on her face too.

"This is Jennifer", Rick began. "She's who made the noise. We didn't see any walkers, but all of you, keep your eyes open. Remember, no guns unless you have to"

Rick paused to rub the back of his neck with his hand and Jennifer saw how stressed he looked. She deduced that he must be the leader of the bunch. Rick continued informing the group of what he knew.

"She says she's alone and -"

"Bullshit" one of the other men cut him off. "There ain't no way she's alone." The man approached Jennifer quickly and towered over her as he spoke "Where's yer people? And don't fuckin' lie to me". Jennifer opened her mouth to reply but found that no sound came. The man's body language intimidated her, and she could see that his eyes were completely devoid of any kind of emotion.

"Shane, stop it", one of the women carefully said. Her tone of voice confirmed that it was really more of a request than anything else. Obviously this Shane guy had the same effect on his own group.

Shane ignored the other woman and turned his attention to Rick. "Don' tell me _you_ believe she survived this long on her own? Come on, man!" Shane scoffed and walked towards one of the cars, turning back to face Rick "I tell you what we got' do. We gotta keep movin'. We gotta keep goin' just like we planned. Leave her an' let's go."

Rick strode forward to meet Shane. "Shane, listen to me," Rick began. He tried to maintain eye contact, but Shane dodged his efforts, seemingly knowing what Rick was about to say. "We don't kill the living. You know that. And if we leave her here alone, that's what we'll be doing. Look at her, she's starving."

"Then give her a goddamn cereal bar an' send her on her way!" Shane growled back, angrily.

Rick took a step back, trying to resist losing his patience before he spoke again.

"I think she's tellin' the truth, brother. And even if she is with a group, we're gonna be on our way outta here soon anyway, they wouldn't be able to follow us anywhere."

"But Lori, Carl..."

"If she ever steps outta line, she's gone. First sign of trouble, we leave her." Rick assured him before turning to face Jennifer "Right?"

Jennifer only nodded. She was still unsure if she wanted to go with these people. The women and children made her feel much more at ease, that was for sure, but -"

"Can you shoot?" someone asked.

"What supplies do you got in your bag?" someone else wanted to know.

"What happened to your family?" another one added.

"Alright, settle down. Plenty a' time for questions later. First, we gotta get movin' again." Rick nodded quickly at Shane, reaffirming his earlier suggestion. The rest of the group began to disperse towards the vehicles. Rick held back and spoke to Jennifer alone "We're gonna drive another few hours an' then set up camp for the night. We got food, water and protection. If you're comin', you ride shotgun with me where I can keep an eye on you". Rick turned and walked away, headed to a car which already held a woman and a young boy.

In a split-second decision, Jennifer decided to follow him.


	5. Chapter 5

Soon the trio approached the roadside in silence. Jennifer's heart pounded in her chest the entire time. She tried to reason with herself - one of the men had introduced himself to her - why would he bother to do that if he was planning to hurt her? She knew that she had to stay calm - if she allowed herself to panic, the chances were that she'd panic the men too - and then who knows what might happen.

As they emerged from the tree line, Jennifer looked up to see that the remaining members of the men's group had immediately turned their attention to her. A few of them had raised a gun in her direction, clearly in the habit of protecting each other at all costs.

The man who had introduced himself as Rick quickly settled the commotion.

"It's okay", he said, raising his hand, "it's okay". Jennifer glanced around the people in front of her and noticed how mismatched the group looked. There were men, women and children of all ages. Some of them looked like they could handle themselves, others looked like they only stayed around to cook dinner.

The one thing all they shared, though, was that look of fear and uncertainty. Jennifer knew full well that she probably had a similar expression on her face too.

"This is Jennifer", Rick began. "She's who made the noise. We didn't see any walkers, but all of you, keep your eyes open. Remember, no guns unless you have to"

Rick paused to rub the back of his neck with his hand and Jennifer saw how stressed he looked. She deduced that he must be the leader of the bunch. Rick continued informing the group of what he knew.

"She says she's alone and -"

"Bullshit" one of the other men cut him off. "There ain't no way she's alone." The man approached Jennifer quickly and towered over her as he spoke "Where's yer people? And don't fuckin' lie to me". Jennifer opened her mouth to reply but found that no sound came. The man's body language intimidated her, and she could see that his eyes were completely devoid of any kind of emotion.

"Shane, stop it", one of the women carefully said. Her tone of voice confirmed that it was really more of a request than anything else. Obviously this guy had the same effect on his own group.

Shane ignored the other woman and turned his attention to Rick. "Don' tell me _you_ believe she survived this long on her own? Come on, man!" Shane scoffed and walked towards one of the cars, turning back to face Rick "I tell you what we got' do. We gotta keep movin'. We gotta keep goin' just like we planned. Leave her an' let's go."

Rick strode forward to meet Shane. "Shane, listen to me," Rick began. He tried to maintain eye contact, but Shane dodged his efforts, seemingly knowing what Rick was about to say. "We don't kill the living. You know that. And if we leave her here alone, that's what we'll be doing. Look at her, she's starving."

"Then give her a goddamn cereal bar an' send her on her way!" Shane growled back, angrily.

Rick took a step back, trying to resist losing his patience before he spoke again.

"I think she's tellin' the truth. And even if she is with a group, we're gonna be on our way outta here soon anyway, they wouldn't be able to follow us anywhere."

"But Lori, Carl..."

"If she ever steps outta line, she's gone. First sign of trouble, we leave her." Rick assured him before turning to face Jennifer "Right?"

Jennifer only nodded. She was still unsure if she wanted to go with these people. The women and children made her feel much more at ease, that was for sure, but -"

"Can you shoot?" someone asked.

"What supplies you got in your bag?" someone else wanted to know.

"What happened to your family?" another one added.

"Alright, settle down. There's plenty of time for questions later. First, we gotta get movin' again." Rick nodded quickly at Shane, reaffirming his earlier suggestion.

The rest of the group began to disperse towards the vehicles. Rick held back and spoke to Jennifer alone "We're gonna drive another few hours an' then set up camp for the night. We got food, water and protection. If you're comin', you ride shotgun with me where I can keep an eye on you". Rick turned and walked away, headed to a car which already held a woman and a young boy.

In a split-second decision, Jennifer decided to follow him.


	6. Chapter 6

The car journey was silent. Jennifer hadn't been sure of what to say, or how to say it, so she decided it would be best to stay quiet until Rick made the first move.

She tried her best to relax in the relative comfort of the car, despite having no idea of where she was travelling to. Maybe it didn't matter so much; after all, she didn't exactly have a destination in mind before she came to know these people. After spending most of the time on her feet, the chance to travel like this was a welcome break.

They drove for a couple of hours through the quiet country roads and Jennifer listened as the little boy in the back seat played games with the woman who sat with him. Jennifer assumed she was his mother; Rick's wife, probably. Jennifer heard the boy laugh several times behind her and she briefly wondered how it was possible that he seemed so carefree in such a horrific situation.

They passed several groups of infected as they drove. Some wandered around on the road, others lingered in gardens and fields. It was a creepy sight, and Jennifer tried to distract herself in any way she could.

Her mind wandered back to the rest of the people within the group. Aside from the obnoxious asshole who clearly had a problem with her and the guy who had chased her down through the trees with Rick, the rest of them had seemed pretty normal. They were probably just average people who found themselves thrust into a world that none of them could have imagined. Jennifer guessed that they had come across each other at some point during the previous few weeks and just fell into place as a unit. Safety in numbers, right?

There was the older man who had probably retired recently and bought himself that big RV with the dream of using all that free time to drive wherever his mood took him, the middle-aged woman who held a little girl tightly and looked terrified of her own shadow, and a couple of other guys who had hung back and said nothing during those few minutes she spent with them.

And that blonde. That girl.

Something about her was lingering in Jennifer's mind. She had appeared tough on the outside but the empty, hopeless look in her eyes had betrayed her.

"My name's Lori" the woman in the back seat suddenly said. Jennifer turned around to face her and smiled, grateful that someone had finally spoken. In the time she spent alone, Jennifer had become accustomed to speaking very little, but being around other people reminded her of just how much she missed human interaction.

"And this is Carl" she said wrapping an arm around the young boy's shoulders. He politely looked up and Jennifer smiled at him before he turned his attention back to the drawing he was now doing.

"You wanna tell us about yourself?" Lori asked.

"Well, um," Jennifer cleared her throat "I'm 25 and I'm from Wisconsin, although I was in North Carolina when all this began."

Lori nodded, and Jennifer noticed that Carl was now also looking back up at her, paying attention to her words. She knew Rick was listening too.

"I, uh, had gone to visit my Dad. He moved out there when he and my Mom divorced. He didn't - he -" Jennifer struggled to finish.

"I understand", Lori interrupted softly.

"He went out to get some stuff, y'know, water and food, but he never came back" Jennifer said sadly. Her eyes fell as the reminders of her old life flooded back.

Jennifer took a deep breath before continuing.

"I only spoke to my Mom once when all the fights were breaking out in the big cities - she said that everything was okay at home and that nobody was hurt, and I told her I'd be home as soon as things settled on the east coast - but then the TV broadcasts stopped and the phone line went down. I rationed what I had left and waited a few days for my Dad to get back, but eventually I couldn't stay there any longer."

Jennifer swallowed hard and cleared her throat again as she fought to maintain control of her emotions. "I packed my bag and left him a note, in case he ever came back, and left. I've been on my own ever since."

"How did you get to Georgia?"

"I drove," Jennifer confirmed. "Things were real bad in the towns by the time I left so I mostly stayed on the quiet roads and tried to avoid any contact with people. The radio had a recorded message that told everyone to go to one of the camps that the army had set up for survivors, but I just wanted to get home"

"The camps didn't happen," Rick confirmed. "Or maybe they did" he shrugged, "but they're gone now."

Jennifer nodded. She had guessed that the camps were a dead end since she hadn't seen a single police patrol, soldier or military vehicle.

"Anyway, my car eventually ran out of gas and I couldn't find a replacement that worked, so I've been walking ever since and doing what I can to get by. Then I met you."

Over the next hour or so, Rick and Lori told Jennifer about finding each other against all the odds, the camp at the quarry, the attack that killed so many, and the CDC. They told her about the other members of the group and their plans for the future of finding somewhere secure to call home.

Jennifer was taken aback by the information she was being told. These people had really been through a terrible ordeal. Everyone had, really, but this group had been through hell.

Soon after, the sound of a car horn came from one of the other vehicles in the convoy. That was the signal for everyone to stop driving. Rick slowed the car and stopped. "Stay here 'til we check it out", he instructed to his family. Lori nodded and stroked Carl's hair in an attempt to reassure the boy. Jennifer was unsure if she should follow Rick, but she did it anyway.

The group - minus Lori & Carl and the woman and little girl that Jennifer understood to be Carol & Sophia - gathered in the middle of the road, looking all around them for signs of unwelcome visitors. Jennifer caught Shane's eye as he shook his head in her direction. She knew he was trying to make her feel unwelcome, and it worked, but she made sure her face didn't show it.

"Alright, guys, we're losin' the light. We gotta think about setting up camp for the night someplace", Rick said, taking charge.

"Here looks good t'me." Shane replied, looking all around him. "We're off the main road. Guard on top of the RV an' thirty minute patrols around the perimeter should do it".

Rick considered the suggestion for a few seconds before nodding his head in agreement. Nobody else offered an opinion so it was a given that everyone else was happy with Shane's idea.

"Alright," Rick smiled. "Let's get set up".

Jennifer stood awkwardly as the group dispersed to their vehicles. She didn't want to assume anything about where she would be sleeping. Hell, maybe they wouldn't trust her to sleep so close to them yet.

"Um, Miss?" a voice cut through her thoughts. Jennifer looked up to see the oldest member of the group looking down at her.

"I'm Dale." he introduced himself, shaking her hand and smiling a genuine smile. "You said your name was...?"

"Jennifer".

"Well, Jennifer, do you have a place to sleep tonight?", Dale asked as if he had read her mind.

"Um, well, normally I just catch a couple of hours sleep in a tree" Jennifer replied, somewhat embarrassed by her lack of resources.

"Why don't you sleep in the RV tonight? We have the space, and it's more comfortable than a tree. Safer too".

Jennifer's smile beamed at him. "Are you sure? Thank you, so much. I really appreciate this, Dale" she replied, excited at the prospect of a normal place to rest.

Dale smiled back. "It's just me and Andrea in there - uh, she's the blonde - she's not doing too good right now , though. Her sister -"

"I know," Jennifer nodded. "I heard about what happened in the car ride here". Jennifer's heart went out to Andrea. Everyone had lost someone, but her situation seemed worse than most. She hoped she'd get to talk to her, maybe even be her friend one day. She sure sounded like she needed one.

"Let's get some sleep", Dale suggested as he ushered Jennifer towards the RV and out of danger, for tonight at least.


	7. Chapter 7

It took Jennifer a long time to fall asleep that night. The RV _was_ comfortable - in fact it was pure luxury compared to the surroundings she had become accustomed to - but she still found it almost impossible to switch off and rest. Every inch of her body remained on high alert for any potential danger. The logical part of her brain told her that she was much safer now than she had been before, but relaxing proved to be easier said than done.

Jennifer tried to distract herself from her anxiety. She lay in her makeshift bed on the floor and invented math problems and tried to solve them in her head. She silently sang the lyrics to her favourite songs. She thought about her new travelling companions and tried to remember all of their names.

When she did finally close her eyes, the infected haunted her dreams. Devoid of colour with mangled and decaying bodies, their faces chased away any chance of her first proper sleep in weeks.

Jennifer finally gave up on trying just after the sun began to rise over the hills. As she listened to the soft, slow, even breathing coming from the other people in the RV. She wondered how they managed to find peace.

Jennifer quietly stood up, being careful not to disturb anyone else. After using the toilet and tidying her bedding, she picked up the crow bar she had kept by her side from the beginning and stepped quietly and cautiously out of the RV. The sun was bright and she squinted to get a better view of her surroundings.

"Hey!", a cheery voice suddenly greeted her from above.

Jennifer shielded her eyes with her hand and looked up to see a young Asian guy smiling down at her from the roof of the RV.

"Hey", she replied with a smile.

"Nobody else is awake yet. Don't worry though, they'll be up soon. He paused for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat nervously. You wanna come up and sit?" he asked. "Ladder is at the back".

Jennifer nodded and walked around the RV to climb up. She knew he was probably just bored from sitting alone on guard, but she was glad all the same that he seemed to be extending the hand of friendship her way.

"I'm Glenn", the man said.

"Jennifer", she replied simply.

Jennifer sat down and looked around. In the old world, the view would have been like a picture postcard. The colours were incredible. Warm greens and relaxing yellows combined to create a peaceful, welcoming ambience. The infected were there though, wandering aimlessly as usual, through the fields. None of them were close enough to pose a threat right now, but the very sight of them still unnerved Jennifer as much as they did on day one of this hell.

Glenn and Jennifer talked for a while and she was surprised at how much he was able to lift her mood just by having a conversation with her. Much of what Glenn spoke about - being trapped in Atlanta, the attack at the camp, the CDC - Jennifer had already heard from Rick and Lori the day before. He also told her about his life before the outbreak - his family, job and friends. Glenn explained that the group had become like a surrogate family to each other.

"Dale", Glenn laughed, "Dale is the father of the camp. He's our voice of reason, and he knows everything about everything." he smiled. "He and his wife - she, uh, died just before all this happened - didn't have kids of their own, so I guess he likes to look out for us all"

Jennifer nodded without making eye contact with Glenn. She continued to watch the infected in the distance. They weren't getting any closer; just roaming.

"What about the girl in the RV?", Jennifer questioned, finally turning around to face Glenn. "The blonde".

"Oh, uh, her name's Andrea. Her sister was bitten a few days ago". Jennifer knew that much already, but she had thought about her more than anyone else overnight and wanted to know more.

"She's barely spoken to anyone since it happened. I, uh, I don't know if she'll be okay". Glenn lowered his eyes and shook his head. "It sucks, you know? They just had each other, and all of a sudden, Amy's turned into one of those things and Andrea's shot her in the -".

"Wait, what? She shot her?" Jennifer interrupted, astounded.

"Yeah", Glenn confirmed. "She ended things. She couldn't leave her sister like that."

"Jesus," Jennifer thought silently. Her mind wandered to her own sister back in Wisconsin.

Soon, the rest of the group began emerging from their tents. Jennifer noticed that although they looked mismatched, each member seemed to have a place within the unit. Carol and Lori fussed over their children and cooked breakfast. T-Dog joined her and Glenn on the RV roof to take over on watch and Rick pondered over a road map, with the help of Shane, probably trying to decide the next course of action.

Jennifer climbed down the stairs of the RV. After being assured several times by Carol that she didn't need any help cooking, she set out to find and talk to Andrea. She had no idea what she was going to say to her, but she felt that it was important to make an effort.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows so far. I really appreciate it! **

**I've updated the rating to M - just so I can write what I want without worrying. **

**Also, this will eventually become a femslash story. When I was planning ahead, that was the outcome every time. If that's not your thing, opt out now. ;-) **

As Jennifer got closer to the door of Dale's RV, her confidence wavered. What was she doing? What was the plan here? Would Andrea even listen to her?

Jennifer thought about saving herself the trouble by turning around and doing this another time, but suddenly her hand was pulling the door open and she was inside the RV.

"Uh, hey," Jennifer said softly as she approached Andrea at the table built-in to the middle of the RV. "I'm Jennifer. We didn't get a chance to -"

"What is it? Andrea interrupted as she stared out of the closest window. Jennifer was surprised at her reaction - she hasn't expected her to talk, let alone be so direct.

Andrea looked exhausted. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy and her shoulders slumped forward as she sat.

"I wanted to introduce myself and say hello, since we -"

"Great, you've done it. You need anything else?" Andrea cut in again without moving her eyes from the window.

Jennifer took a deep breath. This was harder than she expected, and the constant interruptions were pissing her off already.

"Not really. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry about what happened to your -"

"Got it. Save your pity, I don't need it"

Jennifer was angry now. She knew Andrea had been through a terrible experience but her attitude made it almost impossible for anyone to help.

"It's not pity. But I understand you wanna be alone. If you change your mind, I'll be around." Jennifer replied as she stood up and left the RV.

Once outside, Jennifer closed her eyes and tried to stem her rising temper. She didn't actually understand why she was so frustrated; after all, she didn't know Andrea.

But she knew that she really _wanted_ to know her.

Jennifer's head was almost spinning with confusion. She needed a distraction.

Seeing the kids, Carl and Sophia, on the grass at the side of the road, Jennifer joined them.

Survivors were rare, but children even more so.

"We don't have to go to school anymore. Our Mom's teach us things sometimes but mostly we like to play games and draw." Carl explained, smiling. "We don't have any homework or early classes"

"And there are no bullies here." Sophia added. "Just walkers.

Jennifer almost laughed. She was somewhat envious that the two maintained some innocence and naivety in spite of everything going on around them.

"Do you guys ever get scared?" she probed, as her eyes momentarily wandered back to the RV.

"Sometimes, I guess." Carl answered. "But my Dad takes care of us. Him and Shane and Daryl and everyone else make sure we're okay."

"Good." Jennifer smiled. "That's good."

"Hey guys, remember to draw a picture for me soon, okay?" Jennifer said as she stood.

"Okay!" Carl and Sophia replied in unison, without looking up.

Some time later, Daryl returned from his daily hunt. Jennifer's stomach growled as he told how he'd managed to trap a rabbit for lunch.

Jennifer smiled as he blushed when she thanked him for the food. The tough-guy routine wasn't quite perfect yet.

"Your kids are great; you should be proud of them" Jennifer complimented as she sat down beside Carol and Lori that afternoon.

"We are," Carol beamed from behind a pile of laundry. "Sometimes I think they cope better than us."

"Well, they're resilient. I think they see this as an adventure." Jennifer remarked.

"The longer they stay kids, the better." Lori replied as she folded a white t-shirt. "There's no good to come from growin' up in this world."

Jennifer nodded as she pondered Lori's comments.

"Ya'll!" a sudden voice pulled Jennifer from her thoughts. She, Carol and Lori turned to face the direction of the noise, and saw Shane approach.

"Great," Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"Be ready for a meeting in a few. Gotta talk 'bout movin' on." Shane drawled, ignoring Jennifer's presence entirely.

In no time, the group had gathered in front of the RV so that T-Dog could both stay on guard and be included in the conversations. Rick still held his roadmap and faced the group as he prepared to speak.

"Everyone here?" Rick asked.

"Not quite, son. Andrea's inside." Dale replied.

"Someone should get her," Glenn suggested.

Shane immediately scoffed. "If she's too busy cryin', then that's her choice. She ain't the only one with troubles here."

Ignoring him, Dale nodded towards Glenn and retreated to the RV.

"You're an asshole!"

The words flew out of Jennifer's mouth before she could stop them.

Shane froze for an instant, stunned, before squaring up to Jennifer.

"You're sayin' what to me, bitch?" he snarled.

Jennifer suddenly wished she had kept her mouth shut. Outbursts like that were out of character for her, but she had no option now; she had to stand her ground.

"You heard! You're a fucking asshole!" Jennifer's heart was pounding but she smirked as she looked Shane up and down. She was sure she heard a stifled laugh from someone else in the crowd. "I'm sure it takes a real big man to talk shit about someone who's -"

"Alright, knock it off!" Rick interrupted angrily, a little louder than he probably intended.

Shane gave Jennifer a look that told her in no uncertain terms that their spat wasn't over, and returned to his earlier position beside Rick.

The RV door swung open and Jennifer was surprised to see Andrea accompanying Dale. She didn't expect to see her again today.

Everyone gathered a little closer as Rick unfolded his roadmap and laid it at his feet.

"I don't want us on the road any longer than necessary." Rick began.

Kneeling down and pointing to an area of the map, he continued. "We are...here. And the closest town is...here, about 25 miles away.

Rick pointed to another section of the map. "Now Greenwood is small - maybe only 1500 folks lived there, so there's a good chance it's not been hit yet. But there will be plenty'a walkers."

"We need supplies - food, water, gas, whatever ammo we can find, and we need it now." Rick paused for a second, before continuing.

"Me, Lori, Carl an' T will ride together". Rick threw a glance towards T-Dog, who nodded his approval from the RV roof. "

"Shane will go with Carol, Sophia an' Glenn. An' Dale, you take Daryl, Andrea an' Jennifer."

In an attempt to gauge her reaction, Jennifer sneaked a glance in Andrea's direction. The blonde didn't notice.

"Let's get packed up!" Shane instructed as he walked off towards a car.

The rest of the group began to disperse as Rick gave his wife a quick kiss to calm the anxiety that was written all over her face.

Jennifer felt very uneasy about purposely walking into a group of the infected - up until now she'd always done her best to avoid them as much as possible. She hoped that as part of a group now, things wouldn't be so scary all the time.

A few minutes later, the convoy of vehicles set off towards their destination town.

In the RV, Jennifer sat as far away from Andrea as she could. The drone of the engine was calming and she felt herself physically relax as she fell asleep.

"Hey..."

"Hey..."

Jennifer's eyes snapped open as she felt tugging on her left arm.

"I'm awake!"

"I'm awa-"

Jennifer opened her eyes to see Andrea looking at her.

"Sorry," Jennifer said as she stretched her arms above her head. "I must have fell asleep."

"Dale wanted me to tell you that he thinks we're almost at Greenwood. There are more walkers around now so you should probably be awake." Andrea said matter of factly.

"Right, uh, thanks," Jennifer nodded. She suddenly felt sick at the danger they were facing, but didn't want Andrea to pick up on her fear.

Andrea turned and walked away without another word. After a couple of steps, she stopped and turned to face Jennifer again.

"I heard what you said to Shane back at the roadside."

Jennifer nodded, unsure of what to say in return.

"Thanks," Andrea said. "You didn't need to do that."

"He's a bully," Jennifer spat. "I fucking hate him already!"

The corners of Andrea's mouth twitched into a tiny smile. Jennifer couldn't help but smile back.


End file.
